1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a refrigerator having one or more movable members which are contactlessly powered for activating a power consuming device.
The term “refrigerator” used herein means refrigerated cabinets in which the temperature is normally higher than 0° C., and freezers in which the temperature is maintained below 0° C., as well as combinations thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
It is known that in a refrigerator there is the need of delivering electrical power supply within the refrigerated chambers for powering means like fans, displays or light sources. In current refrigerators such power supply is provided by means of wires electrically connected to the main power that deliver such power to electrical terminals placed within the refrigerated compartments. A drawback of such solution consists in that it cannot guarantee a sufficient level of safety against potentially dangerous electrical power dispersions in the compartments wherein the humidity degree is normally high. Additional risk for the user is caused when such solution is used for delivering electrical power to movable members like food containers, removable shelves or the compartment doors because the user can touch accidentally the electrical contacts left unplugged by the movement of the movable members.
A refrigerator provided with electrically powered shelves is disclosed in the European Patent Application No. EP 1 503 159. In this document it is described a refrigerator comprising a power bus disposed within the refrigerated compartment and electrically connected to a power source. A connector is disposed on the removable shelves. When the removable shelves are mounted within the compartment the connector is connected to the power bus to deliver power to the removable shelves.
The solution described in EP 1 503 159 does not overcome the above mentioned risk of electrical power dispersion within the refrigerated compartment which is a potential source of danger for the user. In addition, the reliability of the connector can be compromised after a number of connection/disconnection cycles as in the case of a refrigerated drawer powered as taught in the cited document.
Another drawback of the solution disclosed in the cited European Patent Application consists in that the shelves can only be placed where a connector is available i.e. only in selected positions. Because of this arrangement, the adjustment of the shelves position within the refrigerated compartment cannot be made continuously along the whole vertical extension of the compartment.